Labradoodles

[Drakeshead]

Better get yours now while the prices are still low. Once President-elect Barack Hussein Obama purchases his the price is sure to go through the roof!

[LastFrontierLabs]

I was under the impression that the Obamas were adopting from a shelter.

[ColMuldrow]

I think he is referring to demand. They are looking to adopt a labradoodle from a shelter.

[LastFrontierLabs]

I find it interesting that the reason alot of the labradoodles are in the shelters is due to the fact that they are NOT hypoallergenic. Poodles are, Portuguese water dogs are, Irish water spaniels? are, but the majority of the Labradoodles are not.

[Drakeshead]

The Obama Family has narrowed down their selection to the Portuguese water dog and the Australian labradoodle.

The first family dog debate goes on: Portuguese Water Dog or Labradoodle?


NEW YORK — If you're a dog lover, there's one hot topic of conversation this week: the Labradoodle vs. the Portuguese water dog.

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News' "This Week," U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday his daughters seemed to have narrowed the choice for a first family dog to either a Portuguese Water Dog or a Labradoodle. Both are good candidates for someone with allergies, such as the kind his 10-year-old daughter Malia has.

"We're closing in on it," he said on the show, adding, "This has been tougher than finding a Commerce secretary."

But what seems like a light discussion about the new first dog is not without its controversy.

The American Kennel Club does not recognize the Labradoodle, a cross between a Labrador retriever and poodle, as a breed. The club wants the Obamas to choose the Portuguese water dog, according to Daisy Okas, spokeswoman for the AKC.

The Portuguese water dog is a swimmer that helped fishermen along Portugal's coast for centuries, according to the AKC's website. Senator Ted Kennedy has made them famous.

"All dogs are wonderful," said Okas. "But a Labradoodle is a mixed breed and its predictability can't be compared to a purebred. We think especially for such a high-profile family, they need to know what they're getting."

Labradoodles were originally bred as service dogs, said Christy Westover, who breeds Australian labradoodles in Klamath Falls, Ore. The Australian labradoodle is a cross between a poodle, cocker spaniel and Labrador retriever, according to the Australian Labradoodle Association of America. She said the dogs are family-friendly, loyal and sweet-tempered.

"It's a great choice," she said.

Stu Freeman, president of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America, said he has mixed emotions. He loves the dogs, but worries that the Obamas will spark a Portuguese water dog craze - 'Obama has one, I want one too.' That's how dogs end up in shelters, he said.

Freeman, who has four dogs and for the time being a litter of eight, said the dogs are loyal, playful and loving.

"This is a dog, particularly puppies, that needs a lot of training," he said. "And that's a pretty busy family. I hope they can do it."

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals isn't advocating for either dog, but wants the dog to come from a shelter or rescue group, said Jacque Schultz, senior director of community outreach for the ASPCA.

Obama said on the show "we're now going to start looking at shelters to see when one of those dogs might come up."

[Jeff]

Man first Tiger Woods gets one and now Obama. We need to get into labradoodle breeding ASAP!!

[HeKing]

Wonder if Labradoodles would make good fighting dogs?

[Side Kick]

HAHAHA

[jsherwin]

[LastFrontierLabs]

June 2006 AKC Gazette - page 67, by Anne Rogers
Editor’s note: This is an interesting look at labradoodles, written from the other side of the cross ~ the Poodle side. Did you know this unfortunate “crossbreed fad” was initiated by the needs of just ONE
person? This article is from the Poodle breed column, in the June 2006 AKC Gazette - page 67, by Anne Rogers Clark. ~Julie
*****
“The following is offered to clear up any misunderstanding concerning the breeding of labradoodles by
The Royal Guide Dogs of Australia. [Poodles breed column, June 2005] This is reprinted with the
permission of the Guide Dog Association of Victoria.
INFORMATION SHEET - LABRADOODLES
Labradoodles are a cross between a Labrador Retriever and a standard Poodle.
Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia bred its first litter of labradoodles in late 1989, in an effort
to produce a dog that would be more suitable for people with allergies.
The coat of the Poodle is generally recognized as being more suitable for people with allergies, because
it does not shed as much as coats of other dogs. The Association aimed to produce a dog the would
combine the temperament of the Labrador (which is suitable for Guide Dog training) with the coat of a
Poodle.
The Association does not claim that labradoodles are allergy-free, or non-allergenic, as has been often
written about these dogs.
They were bred as part of an experimental process aimed at finding a dog that is trainable for Guide
Dog work, but has a coat more suited to people with allergies. In a litter of 10 labradoodles, a person who is allergic to most dogs could find they were allergic to 8 of the 10 labradoodles, or even all of them.
The project was initially designed to meet the needs of one particular woman from Hawaii, whose
husband was allergic to most dogs. This woman had requested that the Association try to find a dog that
could be trained as a Guide Dog and would not produce an allergic reaction in her husband.
Samples of the coats of all three dogs, from the first litter of labradoodles, were sent to Hawaii. The
woman’s husband showed some allergic reaction to two of the three coats. The dog which did not produce an allergic reaction in the husband went on to be trained and is working most successfully in Hawaii.
A vision-impaired person, assessed as suitable for a Guide Dog, but who has allergies, is thoroughly
tested by a qualified allergist for a reaction with the hair, skin scraping and saliva sample of the
labradoodle, before the dog is allocated to the person as a Guide Dog.
The last labradoodles to qualify as Guide Dogs were bred in 1996. Guide Dogs Victoria has no plans to
continue any further development of this particular crossbreed. The success rate of the cross was less then
35 percent for use as Guide Dogs, with only a small proportion of those being utilized in the allergy
situations as outlined above. The testing process outlined above found that many Labrador Retrievers
could also be utilized in these particular circumstances.
Guide Dogs Victoria is a not-for-profit organization and utilized its own breeding program to provide
dogs of sound temperament and physical requirements for use as Guide Dogs.
Our thanks to the Guide Dog Association of Victoria for this information.

~Anne Rogers Clark

[bustercat64]

[Drakeshead]

CC could then use the tag line "Labradoodles; the REAL curly dogs!"

[h2o_dog]

[Bayou Beagle]